Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency medical procedure that traditionally combines chest compression with artificial ventilation in an effort to provide oxygenated blood through the body, and to the brain, in patients where a prolonged loss of circulation places the patient at risk. The rescuer may provide artificial ventilation by either exhaling air into the subject's mouth or nose (e.g., mouth-to-mouth resuscitation) or using a device that pushes air into the subject's lungs (e.g., mechanical ventilation). Mechanical ventilation typically involves a ventilator machine or a medical professional compressing a bag valve mask or a set of bellows. However, such mechanical ventilation equipment is typically available only in hospitals or ambulances and can be cumbersome to transport to patients in the field.
Thus, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is typically used by medical personnel in the field to provide artificial ventilation to patients. However, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation significantly increases the risk of contamination between the patient and medical personnel due to the exhaled air from the medical personnel being inhaled by the patient. Moreover, because the exhaled air from the medical personnel contains increased carbon dioxide, as compared to atmospheric air, the patient receives less oxygen during mouth-to-mouth resuscitation than through typical breathing, at a time when oxygen intake is critical.
Thus, improved devices and methods for delivering air to a patient in need of artificial ventilation are needed.